Robin Roeckers in another_thread asked about resources to help with reading schematics, identifying components under the chassis, etc. While this does not directly answer his questions, we can take the opportunity to create a thread with a list of the best books available in English for radio circuitry theory and practical radio servicing knowledge.

Some of the top choices would be:

1. "Elements of Radio Servicing" by William Marcus and Alex Levy

2. "Elements of Radio" by Abraham Marcus and William Marcus

Both of these are commonly available from used book dealers such as Amazon.com.

Book #2 above was the book that helped me the most in learning radio theory. It was written specifically to teach radio theory in a nonmathmatical manner, relying on illustrations, graphs, and discussion instead of mathmatical formulas to teach theory. I read this book when I was about 14 years old, and it really opened my eyes and brought me to a new level of understanding of theory at that time. Although some of us have the technical understanding to handle advanced theory literature, most people are going to be more comfortable with and learn more from a book like "Elements of Radio."

Book #1 is the most commonly cited book as being helpful for practical servicing advice.

I realize there are places in existing threads where these books are mentioned on RMorg, but there is no simple list of the best English radio-related books yet. Perhaps if others add additional titles here, we can create such a list that is helpful for those who want to learn. What are some of your recommendations?

Just found this recommendation. Oddly enough, I recently purchased the "Elements of Radio" and have truly found it very straightforward and useful to one just getting into radio. I have read it cover to cover and find the whole thing very enlightening. Found out that all I have is volume I of a 2 volume set. But volume I covers most of what a beginner will need.